%0 Journal Article
%@ 14388871
%I JMIR Publications Inc.
%V 16
%N 3
%P e97
%T Who Uses Physician-Rating Websites? Differences in Sociodemographic Variables, Psychographic Variables, and Health Status of Users and Nonusers of Physician-Rating Websites
%+ Department of Marketing and International ManagementAlpen-Adria Universitaet KlagenfurtUniversitaetsstrasse 65-67Klagenfurt am Woerthersee, 9020Austria43 463 2700 400443 463 2700 994041ralf.terlutter@aau.at
%A Terlutter,Ralf
%A Bidmon,Sonja
%A Röttl,Johanna
%K physician-rating websites
%K sociodemographic variables
%K psychographic variables
%K digital literacy
%D 2014
%7 31.03.2014
%9 Original Paper
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: The number of physician-rating websites (PRWs) is rising rapidly, but usage is still poor. So far, there has been little discussion about what kind of variables influence usage of PRWs. Objective: We focused on sociodemographic variables, psychographic variables, and health status of PRW users and nonusers. Methods: An online survey of 1006 randomly selected German patients was conducted in September 2012. We analyzed the patients’ knowledge and use of online PRWs. We also analyzed the impact of sociodemographic variables (gender, age, and education), psychographic variables (eg, feelings toward the Internet, digital literacy), and health status on use or nonuse as well as the judgment of and behavior intentions toward PRWs. The survey instrument was based on existing literature and was guided by several research questions. Results: A total of 29.3% (289/986) of the sample knew of a PRW and 26.1% (257/986) had already used a PRW. Younger people were more prone than older ones to use PRWs (t967=2.27, P=.02). Women used them more than men (χ21=9.4, P=.002), the more highly educated more than less educated people (χ24=19.7, P=.001), and people with chronic diseases more than people without (χ21=5.6, P=.02). No differences were found between users and nonusers in their daily private Internet use and in their use of the Internet for health-related information. Users had more positive feelings about the Internet and other Web-based applications in general (t489=3.07, P=.002) than nonusers, and they had higher digital literacy (t520=4.20, P